The Diary of a Space Marauder | NaNoWriMo 17

Chapter Two

The sight of the city was overwhelming.

Aldo hadn't visited Hell before now, but it had the look of a place that had fallen to pieces. Rust covered everything in sight and the panelling that had fallen off the buildings had long disappeared, probably used to build the slums that had spawned inside the narrow alleys.

The sky couldn't be seen from the streets, the colossal buildings towering into the murky pollution above. They seemed to act as the street walks; shops and markets being established inside the gutted interior. People had chosen to house themselves in-between, or rather, the choice had been made for them. Only the richest got to live on the top floors, or Heaven as the locals had aptly named it.

Aldo wondered if they could see the sky from up there.

It was a hard task to keep her fingers from grasping her gun, as she followed her guide through the underbelly of the worst part of town. She had to be alert as she trailed after him, watching him weave in and out of the crowd like a spectre. She had obviously chosen the right man for the job, though it had hurt her wallet more than a little. She hoped it was worth the cost.

When they exited the steady stream of people into an empty side alley, Aldo let her hand fall to grasp her weapon without hesitation.

"Just right ahead", her guide called over his shoulder, eyes flickering down to her gun with a pointed smirk.

Maybe she hadn't chosen the right man for the job.

It turned out he hadn't lead her astray though, the moniker 'Lagoona' having been carved into a panel above the black door, alongside a crude skull. This was the place Pilar had mentioned.

"This is where we part ways", the guide said, dragging her eyes away from the door, "good luck". With that he turned on his heel and disappeared back into the crowd; it took her a moment to realise she hadn't even paid him.

A gaudy lion-shaped knocker had been fixed to the door, eyes painted a bright crimson that made Aldo grimace. These people were clearly ones for the dramatics, so with an exasperated sigh she pulled it back to knock on the door three times, the sharp sound echoing through the empty alley.

She thought nothing would happen for a moment, until the door finally creaked open, revealing a dark corridor bathed in a jarring blue neon light. Aldo took an apprehensive step forward, and then another, until she was fully inside. She flinched at the sound of the door slamming shut behind her, the air suddenly heavy and oppressive.

With no nowhere else to go she moved carefully forward, hand hovering over her gun. The corridor seemed almost never ending as she crept forward, each step seeming to bring her nowhere, until another door appeared slowly ahead. The blue light got stronger as she stepped inside, the ceiling suddenly expanding above her.

It was an oval room, with a high ceiling and blue stained-glass windows, a far cry from the ones she had often seen decorating church walls. The windows were made from broken blue glass, jagged pieces catching the light in a way that was meant to be disorienting.

The sound of a chair scraping against the ground made her look back down, having almost forgotten what she was there for.

The first thing Aldo registered was that he was tall, reminiscent of the buildings outside as he straightened to his full height. His face was a mar of dark scars, riddled with reminders from his past. His hair was similarly dark, as was the beard that hid the bottom half of his face. All in all, he was not someone Aldo wanted to cross. Hopefully circumstance wouldn't force her hand.

"I've been expecting you", he said, an almost pleasant expression on his face. He was handsome she supposed, with his wild black hair pushed back from his brow, but there was something lurking there that made Aldo's fingers twitch, and her nod laced with tension.